Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of health service quality on destination marketing image. The population of the research are people/patients who receive health services from thermal health centres for treatment in the Pamukkale region. The quantitative research method was used and the data was collected from 390 people by face-to-face questionnaire technique. The samples were determined with the convenience sampling method. With the help of SPSS package program, descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and multivariate regression analysis techniques had been implemented to analyze the research data. According to the results of the research, it has been observed that "Trust" has the highest average among the factors of health service quality. Similarly, it has been observed that the "Emotional Image" variable has the highest average among the destination marketing image factors. It has also been determined that health service quality has a statistically significant effect on the destination marketing image. This study was limited to domestic customers receiving treatment service from thermal health centres in the Pamukkale region, and foreign customers were not considered within the scope of the study. The proposed framework and research findings would help stakeholders to recognize and understand the versatile association in the thermal health tourism industry. Moreover, the findings of this research will make an important contribution to the knowledge that is compatible with this field, especially for visitors who prefer thermal health tourism centres. This study on the health treatment centres in the Pamukkale region evaluates and contributes to the literature and the professionals in the field based on confirmed knowledge obtained via the valid and reliable scales that were developed for different cultures and sectors.

Keywords: